WhereToStart.ca - Access to Mental Health Services for Children and Youth

Mississauga – May 7 – 13 is Children’s Mental Health Week. To celebrate, Peel Children’s Centre (PCC) has partnered with Tim Hortons restaurant owners in Mississauga and Brampton to let children, youth and families know how to access free and confidential mental health services through WhereToStart.ca. Operated by PCC in its role as Lead Agency for child and youth mental health (CYMH) services in Peel Region, WhereToStart.ca is a coordinated intake network of community-based CYMH service providers, funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS). As a clear and single point of contact to multiple agencies and services, WhereToStart.ca makes access to mental health services simpler and easier for children, youth, families and service providers.

During Children’s Mental Health Week, Tim’s TVs in more than 130 Tim Hortons restaurants across Mississauga and Brampton will feature a short animated video about accessing help through WhereToStart.ca. The video illustrates signs that a child or youth might need mental health support, such as losing interest in favourite activities or changes in eating and sleeping habits. If children, youth or their caregivers want to reach out for help, they can call WhereToStart.ca at 905-451-4655 to connect to free and confidential CYMH services in Peel.

“We are delighted to partner with local Tim Hortons restaurant owners to spread the word about WhereToStart.ca,” says Julia Margetiak, Manager, Access, Intake and Health Information, who oversees the coordinated intake network. “At least one in five children and youth in our community will experience a mental health challenge, and our hope is that this video will help them find the services they need, when they need them.”

WhereToStart.ca is comprised of six MCYS-funded CYMH agencies: Associated Youth Services of Peel, Nexus Youth Services, Peel Children’s Centre, Rapport Youth and Family Services and the child and adolescent mental health clinics at Trillium Health Partners and William Osler Health System. WhereToStart.ca was developed to support the implementation of MCYS’ province-wide Moving on Mental Health (MOMH) strategy in the Peel community. First introduced in 2012, MOMH is the provincial government’s strategy to strengthen community-based systems and transform the experiences of children, youth and families so that wherever they live in Ontario, they can access the same core mental health services and have clear pathways into, through and out of care.

Since 1985, Peel Children’s Centre has provided free and confidential mental health services to over 4,300 children, youth and their families annually. In 2014, as part of Moving on Mental Health, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services named PCC the Lead Agency for child and youth mental health services in the Region of Peel. In this capacity, PCC is responsible for ensuring that core services are delivered in the Peel Service Area, and that Peel’s community-based sector works together with healthcare providers, schools and other organizations to support the mental health needs of children, youth and families. To learn more about PCC, please visit our website, www.peelcc.org. To learn more about PCC’s role as Lead Agency and the MOMH strategy, please visit www.peelcc.org/en/lead-agency.